Breakdown of Lapsi kammoksuu pieniä huoneita, pimeistä luolista puhumattakaan.
pieni
small
huone
room
lapsi
child
pimeä
dark
luola
cave
puhumattakaan
not to mention
kammoksua
to dread
Questions & Answers about Lapsi kammoksuu pieniä huoneita, pimeistä luolista puhumattakaan.
Why is pimeistä luolista in the elative case (-sta) when the first object was in the partitive?
The phrase puhumattakaan (not to mention / let alone) always governs the elative case. This happens regardless of the grammatical case of the first item you are comparing it to.
What is the literal translation of puhumattakaan and how does that explain the elative case?
It breaks down into the verb puhua (to speak), the abessive ending -matta (without), and the clitic -kaan (even). Literally, it means 'even without speaking (about)'. Since you speak 'about' something in Finnish using puhua + the elative case, the thing you are not mentioning must also take the elative case.
Could I use saati sitten instead of puhumattakaan here?
Yes, but you would have to change the grammatical case of the dark caves. While puhumattakaan forces the elative case, saati sitten usually mirrors the case of the first item. Since pieniä huoneita is partitive, using the alternative conjunction would make it saati sitten pimeitä luolia.
Why does kammoksua take the partitive case for pieniä huoneita?
The word kammoksua (to dread, to abhor) is an emotion verb. In Finnish, verbs that express a feeling or attitude toward something take the partitive case for their object because the emotion is viewed as an ongoing, unbounded process.
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